This invention relates to the container art and more specifically to the combination of a pallet and a collapsible paperboard container fixedly mounted thereon.
Various types of containers and pallets for supporting them are currently in use for the shipping of products. The most common type of container used in the pallet industry is a flanged tube affixed to the pallet. A flanged tube is a four sided container with a short flap (being the flange) attached, usually at both tube ends, to each of the four container sides. This flap can vary in dimension but is usually in the 4-6 inch range. The top flap, although providing closure capability and bulge resistance to the container, is not necessary and may or may not be included. The bottom flange or flap serves several purposes. When the container is in its erected or set-up state, this flange is parallel to and resting upon the pallet and is at right angles to the side walls of the container. This flange provides a means whereby the container is affixed to the pallet, and also provides greater bulge resistance for the outside walls of the container when the container is filled. Perhaps one of the major reasons this type of container has received such acceptance in the industry is that the flanged tube design, as opposed to a container with a full bottom or floor, requires much less material to manufacture and thus provides a more economical pack that can perform the same function. Since these containers are costly and usually used only once, cost is a major factor.
Although the flanged tube design has many desirable features, there are some drawbacks associated with this design. The main drawback is that once the container is assembled, the container takes up a large amount of space for storage and shipping of empty containers. Because of this storage problem, containers usually have to be totally assembled as required for end use, thus allowing little advance manufacturing, and preventing a smooth flow for production and production scheduling. Shipping of set up pallet boxes is thus limited to small quantities even when using very large trucks for their transport.
The container art is aware of pallet and container constructions wherein the container is collapsible for storage, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,637 issued to Shippell, corresponding to Canadian Patent No. 1,193,987.